THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200539
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A deluge of applicants for concealed-weapons permits has slackened since last July when Virginia eased the law on packing firearms.
But that has not quieted police officals' concerns that an increase in concealed weapons has made law enforcement a little more dangerous.
``Any time you have more firepower on the street there's a greater chance of something going wrong,'' Virginia Beach homicide detective Al Byrum, president of that city's Fraternal Order of Police, said Tuesday.
Virginia Beach leads all jurisdictions in the state in the number of concealed gun permits approved.
``I think everybody, citizens and law enforcement officers alike, are holding their breath to see how this plays out,'' Byrum added.
At least 25,000 Virginians have received concealed handgun permits since July, when the state allowed any law-abiding citizen to qualify.
Because the General Assembly, which approved the law change, did not increase funding for state or local governments to handle the sudden surge in permit approvals, a backlog has developed in putting the permit information into a statewide crime information computer.
Donna Tate, office manager of the State Police Firearms Transactions Center, said prior to the law taking effect the state received about 6,000 permits per year. The center was able recently to add several temporary clerks and now hopes to have the backlog reduced in about eight weeks.
``We're hoping the volume will start going down now,'' she said.
The information is vital to police officers making traffic stops. For one thing, entering drivers' license information into the computer may alert an officer that a driver has a permit and may be carrying a weapon.
South Hampton Roads cities have set records in the number of applications and permit approvals. Virginia Beach has issued 2,494 permits since July, compared to 1,403 in Chesapeake, 848 in Norfolk and 639 in Portsmouth.
The big surge came in July. Virginia Beach received 687 applications that month, dropping to 141 in February.
``At one point, we had people lined up in the lobby and just about out the front door,'' said police spokesman Mike Carey.
To get a permit, an applicant must be at least 21 and pass a police background check. Convicted felons or illegal aliens, or those treated for mental disorders in the past five years, dishonorably discharged from the military or placed under a restraining order are likely to be turned down.
Additionally, local judges, whose courts issue the permits, may require proof that an applicant took a firearms safety course. This is true for most Hampton Roads cities.
Debbie Chebetar, the deputy clerk of court in Chesapeake, said officials ``could write a book'' on the reasons some people give for not wanting to take a safety course. ``One woman didn't know why she had to take the course because she was going to keep it in the house unloaded.''
Matt Benefiel, Virginia Beach's Circuit Court administrator, told the Associated Press he expects a steady flow of applications and another rush in two years when the recently issued permits expire.
``I imagine sooner or later everyone is going to have one,'' he said. by CNB